Page 9 | Bottle feeding = 120 Mars bars by 8 months

pointydog · 28/08/2006 21:00

Round of applause for aitch!

gladbag · 28/08/2006 21:02

aitch, thank you - I love you too

littlepiggie · 28/08/2006 21:02

are you not gray yet with worry jimjams2?

littlepiggie · 28/08/2006 21:03

ok i am going to watch that thing on channel 5

Torimum · 28/08/2006 21:09

aitch, just to say my experience VERY similar to yours. I will never forget the 3 successive midwives who came into my room the first night in hospital. The first said "she's crying all the time, take her into the bed with you". The next said "she's crying all the time, she's just a hungry baby. Keep feeding". The third (after 8 hours crying) said "she's crying all the time, well it's your responsibility if you give her formula"... Unsurprisingly I returned home MAD, HYSTERICAL and CONFUSED... the joys of the NHS midwifery crisis personified... Anyway, that's enough. It's over and we're all fine. But thanks for the solidarity. x

Original poster

MrsDoolittle · 28/08/2006 21:12

aitch - what a fabulously entertaining but emotional post.
I am one of those lucky bf mummies. I feel lucky simply because I am too lazy to do anything else and the fact I am doing what is best for my baby allows me the luxury of feeling smug sometimes.

Your post should be cut and pasted into every one of these bf v ff threads because it says it all

You describe exactly how it is and I don't believe it could have been put better.

OP posts:

Serah · 28/08/2006 21:20

oh bollchocks.
Was reading Aitch's post and thought to myself "I love you aitch"... and then carried on spooling up and realised I am the last in a long line of admirers.
But I still love you Aitch

Original poster

MrsDoolittle · 28/08/2006 21:20

Can I just say?

My brother and his girlfriend are expecting their first baby in 8 weeks. They live in London and I ma horrified at the lack of support they have been given from health professionals.

I have thought long and hard about how I can help. I have decided I am not going to tell them what to do, what is best and where to go. In the end that is up to them. All I can do is encourage them and give them the courage to do whatever they feel they want to do.
I don't believe there is only one right way to look after a baby and bring up a child. You just need the courage to do what you feel is right. The relationship with Mother and child is so very special.

OP posts:

Jimjams2 · 28/08/2006 21:21

I'm not grey littlepiggy, but my MW thought stress might have had something to do with my milk not coming in with ds3.... or

goldendelicious · 28/08/2006 21:30

Just adding myself to the list of aitch's admirers

NicePairofLegsfromMargate · 28/08/2006 21:37

aitch - post of the year for me - well said - I proclaim my undying love for you too but someone got their first and I don't tread on toes

and ....

I've always wanted to know - are you called aitch cos 'haitch' irritates the hell out of you? - it does me

NicePairofLegsfromMargate · 28/08/2006 21:37

there

littlepiggie · 28/08/2006 22:24

Can i say that alot of ff think that bf give you a hard time and we think we are super mum,its not like that at all, this is my RL. I bf as i think i am giving ds the best start i can. After having very stong pain killers at 35w till he was born i think this is even more important, dh has had comments like its sick that a women can let a baby suck her tits, i have had sniggers and whispering at me bf in public, and comments like dont do it infront of me, when are you going to give him a bottle, hes still hungry he nees a bottle (he was putting on 1\2lb - 1lb a week so no not hungry).

Jimjams2 · 28/08/2006 22:27

where are you feeding? In three and half years of breastfeeding I never once had a coment like that. Dh's uncle and cousin's left the room, but they didn't ask me too. We thought it was funny (they ran out).

Joolstoo · 28/08/2006 22:32

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back in the 70's I never had one comment one way or the other about me formula feeding (or any pressure to breastfeed) - I never heard ANYONE comment about the way any other mother fed her baby breast or bottle - I never knew there was such passion about the subject until I came on here, I thought mothers just got on with raising their own children the way they saw fit.

It's all been quite a shock to me!

littlepiggie · 28/08/2006 22:34

In the doctors waiting room i had a young women and i think it was her mother staring and wispering, not in a nice way if you get what i mean. Dh at work got comments about bf mothers, untill he blew his top telling him if he ever had a baby he would understand, a women he works with says he should be one a bottle, he doesnt need bf even though he is still only 4 months. I have even had family members not wanting to see me bf, but i do it anyway now.

littlepiggie · 28/08/2006 22:38

Oh and now i am getting ' your stoping at 6 months though' eeerrrrrrrmmmmmmmmm NO, we will stop when we want, i love bf and so does ds.

juuule · 28/08/2006 22:45

I must have been lucky. I have had 9 children, bf them all for varying amounts of time. The first 3 for 3m, 5m, 3m the other 6 for around 15m. The first 3 were also bottle fed after I stopped bf them, the other 6 have never had a bottle. I have fed in all sorts of places and never had a negative comment about feeding my babies. Yes, my dad and other male members of the family have left the room at times when I first fed the older children - to spare my embarrassment they said. But then they got over it with subsequent children when they realised I wasn't embarrassed about feeding just uncomfortable in case I was embarrassing them.
I do really think it's terrible that people are subjected to other people's judgemental views.

yellowrose · 28/08/2006 22:50

Good for you piggie - my MIL is here now on holiday with us and within a day of arriving she has already said about my DS "but he is over 2 years old now, you should stop bf, otherwise he will become too dependent" and guess who replied back ! DH jumped in immediately and said to his mum "they will stop whenever DS WANTS to stop" - mind you it took me more than a year to get DH so enthusiasic about bf

yellowrose · 28/08/2006 22:53

9 babies - Respect !

The only other woman I know who has had more was my grandmother who had 10 (only 9 survived though - baby no.1 died).

Judy1234 · 28/08/2006 23:21

I've had 5, all breastfed including twins and never a negative comment from anyone. I was rather hoping for some for the fun of it. Don't feel guilty. My sister in law by the way had problems breastfeeding no. 1 and hired a really good breatfeeding counsellor for no. 2 and it went brilliantly.

We have just had to revise world weight scales which were based on unhealthy over weight bottle fed babies to more normal lower weight breastfed ones.

I think part of the problem for a lot of women is other people. I avoided other mothers, didn't read many books on children and just did what felt right for me so that helps avoid most guilt.

tiktok · 28/08/2006 23:25

dinosaur - you asked me a question way down thread. You wanted to know why I didn't think bf was most important for the first few months.

To explain - I was responding to Joolstoo, whose personal opinion was, she said, that bf is important to health in the first months only, and then genetics takes over afterwards. I wondered how she could judge, as it would depend on the individual. If not bf means you end up with a greater risk of something lifelong and serious, then not bf has a much longer significance to you....way, way beyond the first months.

Hope that clears it up

Also - to clarify again: the author of the original mars bars piece is a breastfeeder, but used formula (alongside bf) at the beginning because she was not well-supported in her bf. I know this because she has written about her personal experiences elsewhere.

littlepiggie - your story is great! I know you came onto mumsnet before your baby was born asking about bf, and feeling a bit fearful because of crappy remarks and poor support....you aren't alone in hearing this rubbish, and it's great you have decided to make your own mind up

tiktok · 28/08/2006 23:27

Xenia- where are you posting from? Are you talking about charts? Has your clinic changed charts recently?

yellowrose · 29/08/2006 07:10

It is a myth that babies only benefit from bf in the first few months. Anecdotal and scientific research suggest that babies who are put onto formula immediatley after having been bf become sick much more frequently, i.e. they no longer have access to the fantastic immunity provided by breastmilk.

Anecdotally my bf 2.3 year old has only had a few minor colds since birth (picked up when in contact with other children) whereas as ff toddlers of friends/family seemed sick all the time last winter and had much more severe colds/flu or stomach upsets.

Joolstoo - there is loads of scientific research on the LONG-TERM benefits of bf - including the reduction in the incidence of cancer for both mother and baby.

Would you like to read some of these ? I will only post references if you are interested, I don't wish to waste anyone's time

belgo · 29/08/2006 07:15

Wow yellow rose, this is early for such a well put together post, my brain still isn't in gear yet